Jeff T. Wattrick | MLive DetroitDDOT CEO Ron Freeland speaks to reporters. In the background is one of the 46 new buses added to Detroit's fleet.

Detroit Mayor Dave Bing introduced new DDOT CEO Ron Freeland and unveiled 46 new buses this morning an east side bus terminal. Bing also said DDOT’s long-term plans likely include joining a regional transit authority.

“What we have to do here is to make sure we fix the problems we have in DDOT, and that’s going to be Ron’s primary responsibility,” Bing said. “At a later date, assuming we get everything done with DDOT, we think DDOT can be folded into and be part of a regional transportation system. But we have to fix DDOT first.”

“We need to make sure we are as efficient as we can be and get the buses maintained so when the operators show up for their shifts, they’ve got buses that are well-maintained, that are safe to put out on the street,” he said. “In addition to that, we need determine, given the size of Detroit today compared to what it was ten, five years ago, do we need to ultimately reduce the size of the fleet, should it stay that same?”

Freeland, who said he would defer policy decisions about regionalization to lawmakers, noted that a regionalized transit system doesn’t require merging DDOT with SMART.

“It doesn’t necessarily mean you lose the individual bus service, there are a lot of different models…in New York and Chicago, you have a regional authority but you have separate bus systems for those cities,” he said. “I’m not sure what the overall model is going to be for Detroit because I haven’t had a chance to take a look at it, but my guess would be that given the population density here in Detroit that you will always need some dedicated bus service for Detroit itself.”

DDOT’s new buses began arriving January 30 and are expected to be put into service in the coming weeks. According to statement from the Mayor’s office, the 46 new buses are equipped with diesel engines designed to reduce exhaust emissions by 90%.